Photo Essay: The Most Alien Landscapes on Earth

***Copyright: Please visit the photographer links for licensing conditions for each photo. Some are available through a Creative Commons license, but many are copyrighted against unauthorized use. We were granted special permission to feature them in this Matador photo essay. ***

1. Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia
The largest salt flat in the world reflects the sky during the wet season (above). In the dry winter months, it becomes a mosaic of salt tiles (below).
Photographer: Luca Galuzzi

Photographer: Sergio Pessolano

2. Antarctica
Icebergs drift in dark Antarctic waters.
Photographer: winkyintheuk

3. The Richat Structure, near Ouadane, Mauritania
A circular feature, 50 km across, in the middle of the otherwise featureless Mauritanian Sahara. Picture courtesy of NASA.
Photographer: trodel_wiki

4. Alvord Playa, southeastern Oregon, USA
You might not expect to find a desert in the Pacific Northwest, but this dry lake bed averages only 180 mm of rain a year.
Photographer: rasone

5. Cappadocia, Turkey
Fairy chimneys dominate the landscape between Cavusin and Zelve.
Photographer: Timothy Neesam

6. Socotra Island, Yemen
Socotra’s isolation in the Indian Ocean has given rise to plant life you won’t see anywhere else. Behold the dragon’s blood tree.
Photographer: Sotti
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